The governor signed into law a bill from a Santa Barbara County legislator intended to give healthcare providers full access to someone’s medical records in an emergency.
AB 1119 gives emergency care providers the ability to look at records when the person involved isn’t able to give consent. Medical staff will be able to look at previous diagnoses and prescription histories to allow them to make better informed care decisions.
The legislation was authored by Democratic Assemblywoman Monique Limon of Santa Barbara. She says the new law fills in a key gap in emergency rooms, where doctors sometimes need key information, but there is no one available to provide timely consent to access to records.
